


You only have to be brave enough to see it

by charmandheaven



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23323006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charmandheaven/pseuds/charmandheaven
Summary: All Dick Grayson wanted to do was sleep. But between his father's death, his little brother's denial, his other little brother's return to life, and Talia al Ghul's missing son, there's no way that could happen.
Kudos: 5





	1. The Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a quote from Brave. I love that movie so much. The magic, sewing back a tapestry, familial relationships, fighting for her own hand, walking like a queen, fate is what you make of it...
> 
> I only have a vague idea of what happened during the time period that Bruce died, so if anyone could give me a brief rundown, that'll be appreciated. Or I can just make stuff up, that works; it is going to diverge from canon anyway.
> 
> Inspired by a really good fic, [Guiding Light](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18452345) by ShariDeschain.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aka Dick Grayson's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Dick sighed. He could not deal with Talia al Ghul. Not now. Not on top of every other crazy thing that had been happening. He placed the paper he was about to read on top of various other papers, pushed them to the side of his desk and gave his full attention to the very dangerous intruder.

"What do you want?"

"I want my son back."

His brain paused on that simple sentence. He couldn't have heard that right.

"I thought he went back with you."

After the funeral, he had gone looking for Damian but couldn't find him anywhere. His meagre belongings were also gone, his room as if no-one has ever lived in it. As if he was never there in the first place. The security cameras were also of no use- Damian had dodged them with ease. Much like how his mother had dodged the penthouse's security with ease.

Talia stood as prideful as she usually did, but something flickered on her face momentarily. She placed a hand on her sword, sheathed on her back. A warning.

"He did not. As far as I am aware, he is still with you."

Oh no. "He's not."

Talia tightened her grip on her sword and swiftly pulled it out, its tip almost brushing at his neck.

"You lost my son?!" Her voice had risen steadily in volume and viciousness.

Dick stayed still, the urge to chuckle nervously stuck in his throat. Talia wouldn't take that well right now. And the sword was very, very close to that aforementioned throat.

"Well, that makes it seem I just misplaced him like a bundle of keys. He must have ran away." Good for him too, running away from his mess of families on both sides.

Although, it was concerning there was just a 10 year old, by himself, with absolutely no-one to rely on, in an unspecified place, in a foreign country. Somewhat murderous, but at the same time, very vulnerable. It was a high chance that someone would die. Hopefully not the kid. But also, hopefully not anyone else.

Talia didn't seem to hear him or notice his slight panic.

"How do you lose an entire child?"

His panicking must have affected him too much, his brain-to-mouth filter clearly not working, as he replied with, "At least it's not part of the child. As far as I'm aware." It was not a good time for humour.

Talia snarled, a promise to go through with murder in her eyes. Definitely not a good time for humour. She spoke her next statement as if she was just restraining herself from screaming him dead.

"How long has he been gone?"

Bruce's funeral felt like it was only yesterday. It was only yesterday that he said his last farewells to his third parent. But, taking a quick look at the calendar on the desk, he saw that it was a lot longer than that.

"A month."

At that quiet admission, she turned her head away and lowered the sword, her gaze distant. Her voice turned strangely fragile.

"A month. He could be anywhere by now."

Dick stayed silent, feeling like any sound or movement would spook her now. It was weird to see Talia like this, a reminder that she was as human as he was. That despite the myth of Batman and Ra's al Ghul, they were all still very human.

The moment passed. She snapped back to herself, placed the sword back into its sheath, and turned away, clearly intending to leave.

"Wait, Talia, do you want help?"

Her footsteps visibly faltered. Dick quickly jumped on that.

"You don't want him back in the League, do you? Just back to you."

Talia didn't answer for a long time, staring at him, examining him as if she was judging the weight of his heart. Or how much money she could get in bounty or ransom. Dick stared back with a sense of calm he surprisingly did feel.

At long last, she said, "You will do well not to make assumptions, Richard." And she jumped out of the window, her presence fleeting as a will-o'-the-wisp.

He let out a breath, thankful for the sign of his continued living state. Now, back to work. Surely, after a meeting with the daughter of a demon ~~(though she really didn't seem like it near the end)~~ , nothing could faze him now. He started to read the paper he pushed away.

And promptly dropped it again.

A copy-cat Batman? One that was killing people in direct violation of one of Bruce's highest rules? Tarnishing his memory and legacy?

Dick plonked his head straight onto the desk, hoping that no-one would notice the muffled scream or the quiet tears, wondering when life would just stop throwing lemons at him, just for a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will probably not be a consistent schedule, mainly because I only finished this since it's midsem break rn. So, maybe another 3 months until next break? Maybe never?


	2. A Moment In Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another establishing chapter, just to see what everyone's up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thing I love about Brave is the conflict between duty and personal expression. Like yeah, what's the worth of duty if innocent lives and freedom are at stake? But also, for what and to whom are you responsible for? For your family, your country, your own morals... What is worth the most?

Damian left before he could be rejected. His father was dead, with Grayson being a poor substitute for the legend of his childhood. And surely, Grayson will favour Drake - someone who hasn’t been trained as an assassin since he was born. An unwise choice, since that training made it obvious Damian was the superior one, but the distaste for killing held by his father and his subordinates would mean he would not be considered.

However, going back to the League was not an option. He could not. Not after experiencing this freedom, where he had no training to do or orders to complete or expectations to meet. Duty was paramount, he knew, especially to the ones who had raised him, and every second of his life must be dedicated to paying it back. But, only for a moment, he could imagine having no duties, no destiny, no people to bind him. 

Perhaps his mother, if not his grandfather, would forgive him this little defiance. She always had tried to prepare him for everything the world could throw at him, for everything her father could do. She sang little lullabies when she thought he was asleep and indulged in his fondness for art and music. She followed her duty to her father and to the League, disregarding her affection to his father as necessary.

An unsupervised child would garner more suspicion than an adult on the run, but it is a depressing fact that it would not be out of the ordinary. He had more resources and skills than most, after all. Gotham was sketchy enough to not notice one more resident in its fold.

Staring at the map spread across the hotel floor, he tried to plan for years ahead. Living in the cities claimed by superheros would result in protection from the League. But it would also be more likely for him to be found. Another area would result in anonymity but it would be easier for the League to steal him back. Money would also be an issue, but the generous amount of money he took from his late father would be enough to last for a few years.

Damian knew that he would inevitably have to come back, to fulfil his role as the product of the union between the Batman and the daughter of the Demon, to be the host of his grandfather, Ra's al Ghul reborn, but he just wanted to be Damian, just for a while more.

* * *

"We have two problems," Dick announced to his audience of three. No one at all gasped dramatically. How disappointing. 

"What, only two?" Steph asked, lacing up her purple boots. Tim also looked vaguely amused, already suited up in his Robin suit. Alfred was as calm as ever.

"Remember Damian? Small, slightly murderous, alleged son of Bruce? He's missing."

"Missing? Isn't he with the League?" Tim asked curiously, with only a little bitterness in his tone.

Dick shook his head. It would've been so much easier if that was true. It perhaps would've been a condemnation to a life of killing, but better than a kid and an assassin on the loose and being an unknown variable.

"Talia came to visit, asking for her son back." He saw the look on their faces, distaste and bitterness and disbelief clear as glass. "I know he's rude and arrogant and tried to murder you, but he's also ten and missing in a foreign country."

Tim seemed to acquiesce, moving to the next topic. "Fine. What's the other problem?"

"There's a copy-cat Batman who is, get this, _killing people_." Was that too much anger in his voice? Maybe, but Bruce died and now there were people killing under his name. Dick was allowed to be angry on behalf of his father.

“What does the police think about this?"

"The Commish knows it isn't us, but that's it. Some are praising this new action while others are raising concerns of vigilantes being judge, jury, and executioner."

"Do we have any idea who it is?"

"No." He showed them the video footage of the imposter Batman, courtesy of Babs. He was scarily good at hand-to-hand combat, and after beating the thugs, he took out a gun from his holster and shot the leader.

"His style is … familiar. It almost seems like he is one of us, don't you think?" Dick said. It was eerie; no wonder people took up on him being Batman with no complaint. If Dick saw him on the field, he would’ve automatically trusted him with his life, like he did with any of his family.

Tim nodded in agreement, eyes focused on the screen.

"Doesn't it remind you of Cass a little?" Steph asked, squinting at the screen and tilting her head.

"League-trained then?" Tim speculated, "That would be a problem." He turned to Dick. "Did Talia say anything about this?"

"No, it was just about her son." Dick really hoped these two problems weren’t connected at all.

* * *

Talia nodded her head once to Ra’s al Ghul, and started to talk, no trace of emotion in her voice.

“Damian is missing. He is not with the current Batman, nor has he returned to us."

Ra's steepled his fingers in front of him and stayed silent for a moment. "That is of no matter. There is no need to pursue him yet. You may continue searching for him if you so wish, but it is of secondary priority. He would not betray us, is that not right, my daughter?"

"Of course not." A hint of minor offence slid into her tone.

Ra’s smiled and continued speaking. "Then allow him this minor rebellion, and punish him accordingly when he returns."

"Of course."

“In the meantime, I have another mission for you…”


End file.
